


The Summer That Changed Us

by Thefemalearrow



Category: IT - Stephen King, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - IT (King) Fusion, Child Death, Gen, Horror, IT AU, Missing Persons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:54:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24921130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefemalearrow/pseuds/Thefemalearrow
Summary: It's the summer before sophomore year. A group of teens are ready to spend there summer having fun at the swimming hole and going camping until a killer clown enters town.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

On a rainy day, Jughead Jones was sitting at his desk. His sister, Jellybean, was standing beside him as he made a paper-mache boat. "Here she is," Jughead stuttered, handing the boat to Jellybean.  
"She?" Jellybean asked.  
"You always refer to a boat as a female," Jughead explained, his voice stuttering heavily.  
"Do you want to join me as I play with it in the streets?" she asked.  
"I can't, I've been throwing up all morning," Jughead said. The two siblings then share a hug. Jellybean runs to the front of the house and places the boat in the stream. She chased the boat down the block. The boat then fell into the sewer drain. Jellybean got onto her knees and looked for it.  
"Jughead's going to kill me," Jellybean said. A pair of eyes then appeared. Jellybean then let out a short scream as what appeared to be a clown walked to the opening.  
"Hiya Jellybean," the clown said. "Do you want a balloon?"  
"Who are you?" Jellybean asked, in a scared tone. Every part of her body was telling her to run but her mind. Something about the clown's eyes eased her into staying.  
"I'm Pennywise the Dancing Clown," the clown announced. "I believe this boat belongs to you. Do you want it back? You don't want Jughead to kill you, do you?"  
"No," Jellybean said. "Why are you in the sewers?"  
"I was swept away by a tornado with the rest of the circus," Pennywise said. "We have fluffy cotton candy and the popcorn that goes pop down here. Everyone down here floats as well. Do you want to come and see the circus?"  
"No thanks, I'm not supposed to leave with a stranger," Jellybean stuttered.  
"You know my name and I know yours, so we're not strangers," Pennywise said. "How about you don't come down but you grab your boat from my hand? Remember if you lose it, Jughead will kill you."  
Jellybean noticed the paper-mache boat in his hand. She reluctantly reached for the boat, but Pennywise yanked his hand back. He bit off the girl's arm. She screamed in agony and started to crawl away.  
"Jughead, help me," Jellybean screamed. A hand reached out and grabbed her ankle. She was dragged into the sewers. No one would ever see Jellybean Jones again.


	2. Chapter 1

Nine months later...

Cheryl was banging on a bathroom stall. "I know your crazy sister is pregnant with my brother's baby," she yelled. On the other side of the stall, Betty was sitting on the toilet. She wasn't doing anything but hiding. "Tell me where she is!"  
"I'm not telling you," Betty screamed.  
"Fine, Midge give me the bucket," Cheryl demanded. She then entered the stall and stood on top of the toilet and dumped a bucket of sewer water on her. Betty used her jacket to stop most of the water from hitting her. "Have a nice summer, freak."  
When Betty felt it was safe, she left the bathroom and met up with her friends. "I hate Cheryl," Veronica murmured. "She's the reason I quit the River Vixens after two weeks. She's a tyrant. I bet she's paying her friends to be her friends."  
"You can do that if you have the right amount of money," Kevin said. "And the Blossoms are the wealthiest family in the state."  
"Can we stop talking about Cheryl?" Betty asked. "It's the last day of school before summer starts. I want to know what we're going to do tomorrow."  
"Jughead wants us to look around the sewers for any evidence on the missing kids," Kevin stated. The group then went quiet for a moment. Jughead was the only one who didn't believe Jellybean was dead.  
"It's been almost a year," Veronica said. "He has to know that she isn't going to be found alive."  
"I hope so," Betty sighed. They then met with Archie and Jughead. They dump their textbooks into the trashcan.  
"That feels like such a relief," Archie said. Chuck Clayton and his friends walked up to them.  
"Have a nice summer playing go fish in Archie's grandma's basement," Chuck said.  
"You suck Clayton," Jughead stuttered out.  
"What did you just say?" Chuck asked.  
"He said you suck," Archie said. "And he's right."  
"Listen, serpent trash," Chuck threatened. "Last year you got a free year because of what happened to your sister, but your freebie is over. This summer, your deadmeat."  
Before Chuck could do anything, he heard a car honk. "Chuck come on, your supposed to help me get ready for the beginning of summer party," Reggie called out.  
"Have a summer, from the football team to the losers club," Chuck said. He then climbed into Reggie's car and they drive off.  
"I hate him," Archie said.  
"We all do," Betty sighed. They then go their separate ways.  
\---  
Later that evening, Jughead carried his model of the Riverdale sewer system to his house's garage. His dad was hard at work in there. "I made a model of the sewer system," Jughead said, with a cheery tone. "I found the area where Jellybean was most likely to end up. I think we should check there after dinner."  
"We're not doing that," FP said.  
"Why not?" Jughead asked.  
"Because Jellybean is dead," FP shouted. There was then a moment of silence between the father and son. "Look, the model is impressive, but it was a waste of time. Maybe you should take a modeling class next year."  
FP then left the garage and went into the main house.  
\---  
Josie was eating dinner by herself at Pops. While she ate, she was reading a book on Riverdale's history. She came across a chapter on the fire of Venessa's speakeasy. It happened about fifty years ago and the remains of the speakeasy were still under Pops. There were no survivors.  
She then heard voices from the basement. She closed her book and went downstairs. She walked to the speakeasy and she heard screams from inside. Burnt hands appeared from behind the door. Josie's heart was beating out of her chest.  
The door then opened and she saw someone hanging in the background. It then started struggling, trying to get to her. Josie slammed the door shut and leaned against it, trying to make sense of what just happened.


	3. Chapter 2

Fangs was sitting in the Whyte Worm, staring down the snake that was trapped inside a glass container. Tomorrow was his serpent initiation and he was nervous. "Get over it already," his dad said. "You're joining the serpents whether you like it or not."  
Mr. Forgaty then left the bar. Fangs put his hand in the container when the snake doubled in size. Its fangs were dripping with venom. It managed to get out of its cage and Fangs ran out of the bar. He looked threw a window and saw a clown staring him down.  
"Beep, beep Fangsie," he taunted. Fangs blinked and then the clown was gone. The bar was back to normal, including the snake still being in its cage. Fangs ran away, trying to forget that happened.  
\---  
Betty arrived home and saw her dad passed out on the couch. Ever since her mom died in a car accident two years ago, the family had never been the same. Her dad started drinking. He sent Betty's sister, Polly, to a nunnery when he discovered she's pregnant.  
She walked to the bathroom when she noticed a postcard in her yearbook. On the back was a poem from a secret admirer. Betty held it close to her. No one had ever had a crush on her before. Her mind went to it being Archie. She had caught him looking at her a few times.  
She then heard a voice from the sewer system. She looked at it. She recognized the voices as the missing children. "We all float down here," Lilli said. "And if you come down here, you'll float too."  
Tentacles then came from the sewer and grabbed Betty's neck. It started to pull her to it, but Betty fought back. Eventually, blood-splattered everywhere. That was when Hal walked into the bathroom. "What happened?" he asked.  
"There were the voices in the sewers, and then these tentacles appeared and tried to pull me in the sewer," Betty explained. "And then there was an explosion of blood. I think the missing kids..."  
"You've been reading too many books," Hal said. Betty quickly realized he didn't see the blood that covered the bathroom. "You should try and do something new with your hair. It's getting boring. Maybe ask Cheryl Blossom for advice."  
Hal then left the bathroom. Betty soon followed, never wanting to step back in that bathroom ever again.


	4. Chapter 3

Jughead was washing the dishes for the third night in a row. He didn't mind doing the dishes since it was the least he could do. His mom has been out of it since Jellybean's disappearance, and his dad was busy with work.  
Jughead heard something from the basement. He went down there, expecting to see a raccoon or something of that nature. Instead, he saw the basement was flooded. Jellybean was floating above the water, missing her right arm.  
"Jb?" Jughead asked.  
"Juggie, I'm floating," Jellybean cheered. "And if you come with me, you'll float too."  
Jellybean kept repeating the last part of that sentence. Her voice slowly got deeper. He then saw the upper half of a clown's face. He ran upstairs and locked the door. Once he collected himself again, he opened the door to the basement. He was surprised to see it was back to normal.  
He went back to washing the dishes trying to forget what he just saw.  
\---  
The next day, the group was hanging out at the swimming hole. Jughead was explaining what he saw in his basement last night. "And I think I saw a clown almost completely submerged in water," Jughead said, with a stutter.  
"You saw a clown?" a voice asked. They turned around and saw Fangs. Jughead recognized him since they both frequented the Whyte Worm. "I saw a clown at the Whyte Worm last night. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me."  
"I didn't see a clown, but I have something I wanna show you guys that could be related," Betty said. Betty took them to her house and led them in threw the back. This was so her dad didn't see them. She led them to the bloody bathroom.  
"What happened here?" Veronica asked. "It looks like the prom scene from Carrie here."  
"You guys can see the blood too?" Betty asked. "I thought I was going insane when my dad didn't see it."  
"Do you want our help to clean up the bathroom?" Jughead asked.  
"Yes please," Betty said.  
Once they were finished, they went back to the swimming hole. They heard the screams and they ran to it. They saw Chuck and his friends were tormenting a girl from there school.


	5. Chapter 4

"Leave her alone," Archie spoke up. The teenagers turned to the other teens turned their attention to the others. Josie quickly ran to them.  
"So the waterboy decides to speak up," Chuck said. Archie then saw a clown eating a hand on the other side of the swimming hole. The clown spotted him and used the severed hand to wave at him. Archie blinked, and the clown was gone.  
He was brought out of his thoughts when he was almost hit by a rock. He noticed a rock fight had begun. Archie started to throw rocks at the other team. Both teams got a few hits in.  
"You're dead meat," Reggie said. Both groups ran away when they heard the sound of police sirens. Betty, Josie, Veronica, Jughead, Archie, Kevin, and Fangs took shelter in the nearby forest.  
"Thanks for the help back there," Josie said.  
"Anytime," Betty said. Jughead noticed that Archie had been uncharacteristically quiet. He hadn't uttered a word since the battle began.  
"What's wrong, Arch?" Jughead asked.  
"I think I saw the clown that you guys saw," Archie confessed. "I saw a clown chewing on an arm on the other side of the swimming hole. He waved at me, but when blinked, he was gone."  
"You definitely saw the same clown as us," Jughead stuttered. "He disappeared when I closed the basement door."  
"And he disappeared I left the Whyte Worm," Fangs said.  
"Can only virgins see this clown?" Kevin joked. "I haven't seen any clowns. Which I'm grateful for since I am actually terrified of clowns."  
"Wait, what if the clown turns into what you fear most?" Fangs said. "I've always had a fear of snakes and joining the serpents. Betty, what are you most scared of?"  
"Blood, but mostly what it represents," Betty said. "For a girl, blood represents growing up and are changing bodies. So that theory does make sense, but we still don't know what this clown is."  
"It's definitely not your average circus clown," Josie sighed. She then told them about what happened at Pops the previous evening.  
"I think he's behind the missing children," Archie concluded.  
"I think you're right," Betty said. "I heard the voices of the missing children before the blood explosion."  
"So they might still be alive," Jughead said, surprisingly without a stutter. "We have to defeat this clown and try and save the missing children. But first, we need to find out where his hideout is."  
\---  
Reggie was taunting a girl from school named Ethel. She took refuge in the sewers, but by the time he got down there, she was long gone. He turned on his phone's flashlight and started to look around the sewers. To his surprise, a red balloon appeared out of nowhere.  
It then popped. He saw a clown that was staring him down. The clown then lunged at him. He used one of his long nails to slit his neck, killing the boy. He then got ready for a feast.


	6. Chapter 5

Veronica was walking home. Everyone was meeting at Jughead's house to do research on IT, but Veronica had to get something from her house. As she walked, she noticed the Nebolt House. There was a murder there about twenty-seven years ago. This house always gave Veronica the creeps.  
She was about to pass by the house when she heard someone calling for help. She started to go to the house. She gasped in horror when she saw Reggie's body, laying on its back. She checked for a pulse, but she couldn't find one.  
She heard a loud moan. She turned around and saw a sickly man with a gunshot wound in his head. Veronica ran as he tried to touch her. She eventually got far enough away where he stopped following her. Veronica ran back to her house.  
\---  
Ten minutes later, everyone was at Jughead's house. "I realized at every big event in Riverdale, IT was there," Jughead explained. He then showed them a slide show. Every slide had a picture with IT on it. "The founding, the first fourth of July celebration, the fire at the speakeasy..."  
"So this thing has been around for hundreds of years," Josie said.  
"Precisely," Jughead stuttered. "But it seems to have a pattern where it only attacks every twenty-seven years. The last time IT attacked was in 1993. I think it's some intergalactic force that feeds off fear."  
"Then why is it killing its victims?" Veronica asked.  
"Maybe fear is marination for it," Archie said. "Like salt or pepper. It makes its victims taste better."  
Then a slide that Jughead didn't put in appeared. It was written in blood and it said 'Pennywise wishes to see you at the Nebolt House. Ask Veronica for directions.' The teens look at each other. "We shouldn't go," Betty said. "This is definitely a trap."  
"But this could be our only chance to stop it," Josie said.  
"Look, you guys don't have to go," Jughead said. "But I can't sleep at night knowing this clown is out there, waiting for his next victim. The citizens of Riverdale deserve to not have to live in the fear that little Tommy might never come home because of a killer clown. I might die facing it, but it will at least be better than staying at my own house."  
He then left the basement. "He didn't stutter once during that speech," Archie noted.  
"I say we help him," Betty said. "Us losers have to stay together."  
"I agree with Betty," Veronica said. "Raise your hand if you wish to come."  
Everyone but Fangs raised their hand. Josie gave him a look. "Ugh fine," Fangs sighed, raising his hand.  
"Perfect," Betty said. "Now let's go kill a clown."


	7. Chapter 6

They entered the house on Nebolt House. "We need to split up," Archie suggested.  
"That is an awful idea," Jughead said. "Have you never seen a horror film? Bad things happen when people split up. We're living a real horror film. You can be so dumb sometimes, Archie."  
"But well cover more ground if we split up," Archie said.  
"But we make easier targets when we're alone," Josie said. They then go deeper into the house. Kevin saw two doorways, one promising to be bad and the other one said it was really bad. He opened the door and saw a headless little girl, to be more specific Lorian Anne, a girl whose body was recently found in the local creek.  
The headless girl ran at Kevin. He quickly slammed the door. He didn't want to, but something was luring him to the other door. He opened the door and saw a room with a bunch of clown dolls. In the back of the room, there was a coffin. He was about to leave when a clown jumped out of the coffin.  
"Beep Beep Kevin," the clown said. Kevin slammed the door and tried to forget what he had just seen. They made there was to the kitchen, where the murder took place all those years ago. The refrigerator then opened and Pennywise climbed out of it.  
"How did he get there without any of us noticing him?" Archie asked.  
"He's a clown that can bend reality at his own will, and that's your biggest concern?" Betty asked in an annoyed voice.  
"Guys it's ok, he's not real," Jughead said. That caused Pennywise to looked at him with a mixture of anger and fear.  
"Not real enough for you," Pennywise said, with a voice crack. "I'm not real enough for you? I was real enough for JB."  
Jughead looked at him with fear in his eyes. Pennywise then lunged at Fangs and stuck his claws into his stomach. Fangs let out a cry of pain. Betty grabbed a rolling pin and started to beat Pennywise with it. She managed to shove it into his head, causing him to stumble back a few feet. They then ran out of the house.  
"We need to regroup and plan another attack," Jughead said.  
"Are you kidding me?" Archie exclaimed. "We barely got out of there with our lives. I never want to face that thing again."  
"What about the missing kids?" Jughead asked.  
"After what happened in there, I know they're dead," Archie argued.  
"You promised you'd help me find my sister," Jughead yelled.  
"Jellybean is dead," Archie shouted. "You should know that because it basically confirmed it. I think you need to get over it and try and live a normal life. If you don't stop-"  
Jughead punched him in the nose before he could finish that thought. The two boys then started to fight each other. Betty and Josie managed to separate the two. "Guys we can't split up," Betty said. "That's what IT wants."  
"I'd rather get eaten by Pennywise than be in the losers club for another second," Archie yelled. They then leave the area and wouldn't speak to each other for a few months.


	8. Chapter 7

Three months later...

Betty came home when she saw her dad was waiting for her. He was holding his left hand a love poem. "You were snooping around in my room again," Betty said, annoyed.  
"What did I tell you about ruining around with boys?" Hal asked. "Do I have to send you to a nunnery like your sister?"  
"No, I have no clue who wrote that note," Betty stuttered.  
"Ms. Margret said she's seen you ruining around with a group of boys," Hal said. He then grabbed a knife. "Are you still my little girl?"  
Betty ran to the bathroom and managed to get the toilet seat free. Hal ran into the room and Betty hit him on the head with the toilet seat, knocking him out. She was about to leave when IT appeared in front of her and grabbed her neck.  
\---  
Jughead was going for a walk when he passed by Betty's house. He decided he was going to check on her since he hadn't spoken to her in a while. He entered the house and saw Betty's dad was laying on the bathroom floor. He ran inside and saw a message written in blood.

"You'll die if you try."

Jughead then ran to the arcade, knowing Archie was most likely going to be there. He saw him at a Mortal Kombat machine. "Archie, we need to talk," Jughead said.  
"You see this?" Archie asked his ex-best friend. Archie made his character, Scorpion, rip off Raiden's head with the spine still attached. "I'm pretending that's you, Jughead."  
"It got Betty," Jughead said. He then stepped away from the machine. "I know you said you'd rather die than face it again, but if we stand together we have a chance to actually defeat it if we stay together."  
"I really hate you," Archie said. "But I guess I'll fight alongside you one more time."  
\---  
Betty woke up in the sewers. She looked up and saw a bunch of floating children. She recognized some of them as the missing children. She figured that they were dead. She saw Jughead's sister was floating. She only had one arm.  
Her attention was taken away by the sound of an explosion. She saw it and it started to dance. Betty was confused, but she took this as a chance to run away. It jumped at her and grabbed her by the back. She started to struggle as it laughed.  
"I'm not scared of you," Betty said. It looked at her with a hurt expression. He then opened his mouth and she saw a light. This light caused Betty to go into a coma-like state and it let go of her, causing her to join the floating children.


	9. Chapter 9

Chuck arrived back home. His dad was asleep in his chair. On the TV, there was a teacher and her class. "Make it a great day, and kill them all," the teacher said.  
"Kill them all," the students started to chant. A clown appeared in front of him and smirked at him. Chuck grabbed his father's knife and stabbed him in the neck. Mr. Clayton's eyes opened, signifying his death.  
The TV program then went back to normal, but the damage was already done. Chuck took the knife and left the house. Something was telling him that the losers club was going to be at the Nebolt house, so he went there first.  
\---  
The loser club arrived at the Nebolt house. They then noticed they were being watched by Chuck Clayton. His eyes were filled with murderous intentions. They ran into the Nebolt House, but they weren't fast enough. Chuck held Archie against the wall. "Guys run," Archie yelled.  
"We're not leaving you," Josie said.  
"You have to," Archie said. "You guys need to stop this clown before it claims another victim. Please leave me be. If I don't make it out alive, please take care of my mom and Vegas."  
They then reluctantly leave Archie alone. They found a latter that led into the ground and they started to climb down it. They ended up in Riverdale's sewer system and they turned on their phone's flashlights. They saw Betty was floating and looking at the ceiling. They could tell she wasn't fully there.  
Fangs grabbed the rope and tied it to her ankle. He brought her down and they tried to wake up. In a spur of the moment decision, Jughead kissed Betty, hoping that would snap her out of it. She snapped out of it.  
"January embers," Jughead said, reciting the poem Betty found in her yearbook.  
"My heart burns there too," Betty says, with a smile.  
Meanwhile, Archie was still fighting off Chuck. He saw a hole in the ground and got an idea. He led him to it and once Chuck was close enough, he moved out of the way. Chuck fell into the hole and Archie hoped he was dead. He then rejoined the group in the sewers. "I got rid of our Chuck problem," Archie said.  
"Good," Jughead said. They then heard someone approach them. They saw Jellybean with only one arm. "JB."  
"I lost the boat," Jellybean said.  
"That's ok, it was just paper and glue," Jughead said. "I can make you another one."  
"I want to go home," Jellybean pleaded.  
"Jughead that's not your sister," Betty said. "I saw her floating with the other dead kids. That is probably IT and he's trying to trick you."  
"She's lying to you," Jellybean yelled.  
"You're not my sister, my sister is dead," Jughead growled. He grabbed Fangs's gun and shot her in the head. She fell to the ground and started to shake. She turned into Pennywise. It grabbed Jughead.  
"I want to strike a deal," Pennywise said. "If you let me eat him, I'll leave the rest of you alone and you can leave Riverdale before I wake up again. If you don't take me up on this deal, I won't hesitate to kill all of you."  
"Please leave me," Jughead said. "Dying will be easier for me."  
"Jughead, you've given me plenty of reasons to hate you," Archie explained. "You brought me into this mess, and you gave me a gnarly black eye. Now I hate you because I'm going to have to kill this clown."  
Betty attacked Pennywise, causing him to release Jughead. "Welcome to the losers club," Archie screamed. They then fight the clown. Fangs shot him in the head and it did nothing for a moment. They believe it was going to work, and eventually, it started to work.  
"Fear," Pennywise whispered before disappearing.


	10. Chapter 10

The losers club was hanging out of the swimming hole. "I had a vision," Betty said. "We were fighting it again, but we were older."  
"How did I look?" Veronica asked.  
"You were taller," Betty said. The two girls then smile at each other. Jughead grabbed his pocket knife and stood up.  
"Let's make a blood oath," he said. "To come back and fight it whenever it returns."  
Jughead cut his arm and then passed the knife to Veronica. Everyone in the group reluctantly took the blood oath. They then sat in silence as one by one they all left. It was eventually just Betty and Jughead. "I'm moving in with my aunt in Greendale," Betty informed him.  
"I'll text you every day," Jughead promised. "Promise you'll never forget me."  
"How can I forget the boy I had my first kiss with?" Betty asked. She then got up to leave and started to walk away. She turned around and ran to him. She then kissed him on the lips. Jughead quickly kissed back.  
She then pulled away and left. Jughead was alone once again as he stared at the swimming hole. He saw a turtle swimming threw the water and he thought. He stayed here for a few more hours until he finally went home.

The Summer that Changed Us: Chapter 1


End file.
